Chapter 121: It Was Too Obvious, So I Took the First Move

Shuaaaak―!

Papapak! Papak! Papapak!

Even at a minimal estimate, it sounded like hundreds of soldiers were firing arrows.

Startled, Count Derek and Administrator Nicholas dismounted and hid behind a tree.

The knights and soldiers did the same.

The archers tried to counter, but the intervals between the incoming arrows were far too short.

They didn’t even have the time to set an arrow on the string and aim.

“Archers, what are you doing! Suppress them somehow and assist the knights and soldiers in advancing!”

“There’s no opening!”

“Find a way!”

Arrows kept pouring down relentlessly.

Because of that, most of the soldiers posted at the front to rest collapsed to the ground.

The seemingly endless barrage of arrows suddenly stopped in that moment.

“Is it over? Knights, attack them together with the soldiers!”

Derek Jenkins had to reach the royal capital and carry out the mission according to the orders of Duke Alito, the Chancellor.

Anyone who stood as an obstacle on that path—he intended to remove them by any means necessary.

As soon as his command was given, the knights drove the soldiers forward and charged into the forest.

Cha-cheng! Cha-cha-cheng!

They clashed with those hiding among the trees, and battle broke out.

“Who are these bastards! Did His Majesty send forces to stop us?”

He looked at the soldiers fighting the enemy, trying to figure out who they were.

But the enemy soldiers weren’t dressed like those from the royal capital.

“Where on earth did these guys come from?”

All of them had a strange snake-like emblem engraved on their chests.

It wasn’t an emblem used by any territory, which only deepened their suspicion.

“Could it be that a foreign nation learned of the situation in the royal capital and tried to start a war?”

Suspicion turned into speculation, flooding his mind with countless possibilities.

But they weren’t far from the royal capital right now.

No force could have made it here quickly enough to already be fighting their side.

“Where did these bastards crawl out from?”

And it wasn’t as if they bumped into each other by accident.

The enemies had clearly been waiting for them and launched the attack deliberately.

On top of that, there even seemed to be a mage estimated to be at 4th Circle.

They were absolutely not an easy opponent.

And their identities were completely shrouded in mystery.

Chwaaak! Cheng! Cha-cheng!

The soldiers, their stamina drained from the long march, began to fall back.

Knights and archers from the rear tried to provide support, but it wasn’t easy.

“My lord, the fight is turning against us.”

“I know that! Just when we finally had a chance…!”

At that moment, something long and fluid poured from the air above the troops.

“It’s magic! Everyone, move!”

Chwaaaaa! Kkwakwakwaang!

This time, a 4th Circle spell—‘Water Blaster’—shot toward them.

The massive torrent tore through trees and the ground, sweeping away the knights positioned at the rear.

Their forces, once 1,500 strong, had now diminished to nearly half.

Even the knights suffered damage, and the tide of battle completely shifted.

To gain the upper hand, the enemy forces drove in even more fiercely.

“Capture Derek Jenkins, the Lord of Vaizen!”

One of the enemies’ shouts rang thunderously.

The moment he heard it, Derek Jenkins felt chills run down his spine as he staggered back.

“They came targeting me!”

“My lord! Even now, you must retreat to the territory!”

“But the Royal Capital is right before our eyes! If we enter the Royal Capital instead…….”

Just as Derek Jenkins said, if they could only reach the Royal Capital, they might be able to overcome the enemies chasing them.

However, his current situation was not suitable to attempt such a thing.

“My lord! That is not a wise choice.”

“Ghh! Fine. Retreat! Everyone, fall back!”

The knights and soldiers of Vaizen Territory began hastily withdrawing.

Even as they retreated like water receding, they clustered together to protect their lord, Derek Jenkins.

At that moment, one man among the enemy forces, swinging his sword fiercely, muttered under his breath.

“Was it over there?”

He was the very person who had just shouted for Derek Jenkins.

At the same time, his figure moved like the wind, slaughtering the knights and soldiers who were fleeing.

Chwaaaaak!

With a single sweep of his sword, more than five bodies were cut down.

Blood splattered around, and Count Derek Jenkins, who had been standing right at the front, fell to the ground.

“Wh–Who are you! You won’t leave this place alive!”

He had plenty of knights and soldiers around him.

This man had pushed his way alone through all of them.

“Heh, you think you can decide my life or death?”

“You doubt it! Guards! Cut off that man’s head at once!”

Outside, their forces were still fighting the enemy as they retreated.

It would take quite a while before they could reach the inner area.

Naturally, the knights who had been calming their startled hearts were confident in this situation.

Meanwhile, the corners of the man’s mouth lifted slightly.

“Your troop movements were so obvious I thought of leaving them be, but I suppose it’s better to proceed as safely as possible.”

In that same moment, the man swung his sword, his red hair streaming behind him.

His identity was none other than Raion, who should have been in the Royal Capital right now.

Raion’s sword moved in all directions without emitting any aura.

Cha-cheng! Ching! Swak—!

After a few clashes, heads dropped one after another without fail.

The knights tried to exploit openings and thrust their swords.

But it was no use.

Their swords bounced away in an instant, and a counterstrike came instead.

“How could such swordsmanship even exist……! Gah!”

“He’s not someone we can handle. That man is……!”

Cries of horror burst out.

Soon, Derek Jenkins began stepping backward, trembling violently.

“Where did such a man even come from!”

“I–I don’t know, my lord! The knights are useless against him!”

Administrator Nicholas also sensed defeat.

Then, as all the knights around them fell, Raion’s sword came before the Count’s neck.

Cheok—!

“Count Derek Jenkins, who struggled even to manage his own territory, moving his troops to assault the Royal Capital—now that I didn’t expect.”

“Who are you! You know who I am, yet you dare do such a thing!”

“And if I do know? Does anything change?”

“Put your sword down immediately and cease this attack! If you do so, I shall personally ensure you are rewarded by Duke Alito, the Kingdom’s Chancellor!”

Was he already feeling as though he had stepped aboard Chancellor Alito’s ship?

Raion felt baffled by Derek Jenkins’s desperate shouting.

“You’re making that offer without knowing who I am?”

“It doesn’t matter who you are! Join hands with me! The Royal Capital will fall into the Chancellor’s grasp! If you ally with me, I’ll pretend none of this ever happened!”

Was this how a person became when their ignorance reached the extreme?

From the start, Derek Jenkins was a civil official who inherited the title of Count, not a military one.

But looking at him now, Raion wondered whether he even possessed the ability to think.

‘This must be the consequence of inheriting a title solely due to bloodline.’

Had he been the Raion of the present world alone, he would not have questioned the system.

But the Raion now carried a soul that had not only witnessed the continent’s future but had also lived through the 21st-century Republic of Korea.

Having experienced a democratic nation, he found the current royal and noble system distasteful.

In fact, he believed it was the very thing that corrupted both the continent and the kingdom.

“Even if I told you I planned to behead Chancellor Alito, would you still say that?”

“W–What nonsense……! The Chancellor is a duke of the kingdom and the maternal grandfather of the princes who will inherit the throne! He is not someone a wretch like you could touch!”

“Hah……! I have no interest in the succession of the throne, but I can’t keep listening to your drivel any longer.”

The forces of Vaizen Territory, whose retreat path had been blocked, were surrounded by Raion’s soldiers.

A brief standoff followed, and the battle came to a halt.

At that sight, Derek Jenkins hurriedly opened his mouth.

“His Excellency the Chancellor is destined to become the kingdom’s pillar! So make him put down the sword! If you do, you can seize wealth and honor together with me!”

“I can seize that wealth and honor myself.”

“How dare you speak that way! Do you truly think such a thing is possible!”

“If I, who inherited His Majesty the King’s bloodline, cannot do it, then who can?”

“W–What?”

The moon was hidden behind clouds.

Because of that, Derek Jenkins couldn’t properly confirm Raion’s appearance.

A moment later, the clouds began to part.

As the white moonlight fell over the forest, the gleaming red hair shining above the white armor entered everyone’s sight.

“T–That appearance……!”

Just from Raion’s looks alone, it was difficult to immediately guess his identity.

However, if he possessed red hair and spoke of lineage, then there were only three people he could be.

Of course, two of them had no reason to be here.

That left only one.

“If you can guess who I am, then that neck now belongs to me.”

“Y–Your Highness!”

Derek Jenkins immediately shoved his head to the ground.

At the same time, countless thoughts stormed through his mind.

‘Wasn’t the Third Prince supposed to be incapable of anything? How could he possess such swordsmanship? Or am I mistaken? Were the rumors wrong?’

Any noble of the kingdom would have heard about Raion at least once.

Most of the rumors were about Prince Raion’s lack of qualifications.

Naturally, Derek Jenkins had been one of those who blindly believed them.

“Will you continue fighting?”

“N–No, Your Highness! Everyone, put down your swords! This man is a prince of our kingdom!”

The only way to live now was to acknowledge defeat.

At Derek Jenkins’s shout, the knights and soldiers dropped their weapons and knelt.

Thus, the battle ended.

Now only Raion’s judgment remained.

“Do you think admitting defeat like this will make me spare you?”

“A w–wise p–prince such as yourself would not recklessly behead a lord of the kingdom.”

“You speak as if the title of lord serves as a shield.”

“That is not the case. But I only…… f–followed the Chancellor’s orders. If I refused, my life would have been at risk, so I had no choice.”

His tongue moved frantically.

Seeing that, Raion furrowed his brow.

“And if I spare your life, what benefit is there for me?”

The moment Count Derek heard that, the corners of his mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.

He believed he had been given an opportunity.

“I will stake my life to support Your Highness for as long as I live. I am sincere!”

“Your life, hm…… Do you believe I could become king?”

The martial strength Raion had just shown was terrifying.

And now that he knew Raion was a prince, Count Derek’s calculations were rapidly completed.

“Of course! If it is Your Highness……!”

Swak―!

In an instant, Raion’s sword moved and sent Count Derek Jenkins’s head flying.

It happened in the blink of an eye.

Nicholas, who had been kneeling right beside him, was so shocked that he hiccupped.

“There’s no need for me to carve out and eat a rotten apple.”

Muttering that, Raion brought the situation to an end.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep